Some of you may have seen in the wanted forum a while back where I was looking to get some checkers made for my slab checker table I made. Well I not only got checkers, I got a bunch of little round works of Art plus some bigger round works of art.
I gotta say thank you thank you thank you to CHARLIE and WVHillbilly and Shopteacher. Charlie an hillbilly teamed up to make an awesome set of checkers. Charlie did the dark ones from walnut and Hillbilly did the light one from birdseye maple. They are so smooth and beautifully finished that moving them around on the board is almost like playing air hockey. :D
Thanks guys. You have given me heirlooms.
Shop Teacher took a little doodle I did of a couple axes stuck in a stump and made me a one of a kind set of checkers. He also made me something very unexpected. A plaque and a forestry forum clock. They are going to be prominent on my office wall.
Guys, again, I cant thank you enough. These things are awesome and I treasure them.
Table set up for north versus south checker game.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/table_and_checkers.jpg)
Charlie did the walnut, WVHillbilly the maple.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/checkers_wvhillbilly.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/checkers_wvhillbilly_close.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/charlie_checker.jpg)
Here are the Checkers Shop Teacher did, followed by the surprise plaque and clock!
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/shopteach_checkers.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/shopteach_checker_walnut.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/forum_clock.jpg)
Real peices of art ... 8). and a nice checker board too ;) ;D ;D
Wow! Fantastic work. How were the checkers relieved? Numerical control machine? Hand carved? sand blasted?
Top quality craftsmanship all around.
Jeff, me thinks you deserve it, and those pieces sure fit your kitchen work.
Thanks to WVHillbilly and Charlie, for steppin' up to the plate for all of us (I hope), and for shopteach too (great work).
(now, how did you do the checkers?) or did I miss reading an explanation?
Great work guys those are all nice pieces of art. 8)
I just played 2 games!
Here is Charlie's description on how he made his checkers. I'll let shop teacher and Hillbilly tell about theirs.
I planed down a 2 1/8" wide length of walnut to 1/2"thickness. Then I cut that up into a bunch of 2 1/8" squares and lopped off the corners. Then I stacked them (2 stacks of 9 each) with double stick carpet tape between each one. I stuck a pine waste block on each end, mounted it between centers on my lathe and turned it as close to 2" as I could get it. Sanded it down to 600 grit and applied a shellac finish. I then separated all the disk (had to use a chisel to pop them apart. I then made what is called a "Jam Chuck", which is a scrap piece of wood mounted on my lathe where I turn a very slightly beveled recess that is a hair over 2" diameter. I then can press each disk into the recess for a compression fitting (sometimes they come flying out :-) ). I then turned the groove in the King side of each checker (These are all hand marked and hand turned so they aren't all exactly the same, but very close....I think), sanded it down to 600 grit and applied the shellac finish. Then I reversed each disk in the "Jam Chuck", sanded each flat side down to 600 grit and applied shellac finish. Then I took the disk to my buffer and buffed on a coat of Carnuba wax (a very hard wax). If the disk ever lose their luster, just apply a coat of a good furniture wax and polish. I know you wanted 12 but I made a few extra for you just in case any get lost over the years (1 was a reject due to cracks in the wood).
Man-O-Man, This family has more talent than a feller can shake a stick at. NICE work, guys ;) ;D :)
Yup....I gots to agree with Fla._Deadheader, dars definitely some talented folks hangin' around deese parts. :)
Wow!!! That's really 8) Super job guys!!!!
hey! thats great! 8)crazy stuff
too bad i never read it
i dig the board.
but master sawyer? :D ;)
nice work, he teaches shop? ;) that is heirloom par, my buddy and i allways played checkers n chess. he d
love to see that.nice
didya cut them sawblades on a bandsaw? jigsaw for the gullets? i like its from the same board ;)
Yep, there's some real world class talent here on the Forestry Forum. It is inspiring. Nice work Charlie, 'Teach and WV!!
Captain
Yep, these folks here have tons of talent. Heck I'm hoping that just hanging around here some of it rubs off on me. :)
Nice job guys. 8)
Congrats to Jeff on receiving his new works of art. And very good job by all the folks who laboured over those works. You can tell they love what they do with wood and for the folks they do it for. Great bunch of fellas.
:) 8) 8) :)
Great work guys, Jeff you are one lucky duck to get such a nice guift,
The stump with the two axes in it, is that someone's famly crest or did you just come up with it? I like that alot.
WS
Nope, I just did a doodle on a piece of paper, then recreated it with my xara x image program. Not sure how shop teacher got the image into the carving machine.
As much as I'd like to take credit for cutting the items you see here the credit has to go to the machine. We have a Multicam MT 22 CNC Router in our shop and it is just one fantastic piece of technology. (https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/multicam.jpg)
The checker was drawn off the sketch (that Jeff forwarded) using a program called AlphaCam. It's a cad(computer aided drafting) CAM (computer aided machining) program. It allows a tool path or paths to be set for each line in the drawing. There were three operations in cutting the checker. First the engraving was created using a 90 deg. V bit set to cut .04 deep. Second a carbide 1/8" spiral upcut bit was used to remove the material from around the handles and stump. Third the same bit went back and cut out the 2" round disk.
I used a flap sander to go over them to smooth the edges and get rid of and little fibers left from the cut.
Redpowerd; The saw blade was created on the same machine. To create the teeth I drew the profile of one tooth and rotated it around a central point. By dividing a 360 deg. circle into what ever number of teeth you wand gives you the number of divisions. 20 teeth = rotation angel of 18 deg.
It a little hard to tell from Jeff's' picture but the tree in the clock is pocketed out and the lettering Forestry Forum is engraved into the bottom of the pocket. I'll attach a blowup.
(https://forestryforum.com/images/04_01_03/sawclock2.jpg)
I programed the machine to cut 12 checkers at a time so that weren't so bad, once the design was to my liking, and sometimes that takes a lot of tweaking. Something that small has a tendency to chip a lot. The clock I cut one at a time due to the number of tool bit changes and the fact I'm cutting hardwood pieces rather than sheet good like the big boys do.
I wish I was better at using the machine as is is capable of a thousand times more than what I know or can do with it. When we bought it I was given two days training on it and that was about enough to learn how to turn it on. There is no book and just about everything has been learned through trial and error. I'm glad you like the pieces, but there is more skill and craftsmanship involved in the ones Charlie and Hill Billy made than the one I created using the CNC.
thats cheatin!
no book, thats not.
THATS why they changed shop class to tech class.
i cant even upload photos
Teach:
That machine prolly cost four shop teacher's sallaries to buy didn't it? What I'm getting at is that its not in most folks wood workin shops, including mine. We're all jelous now. ;) ;D
SD; When we bought that machine I think it was about 25,000 and AlphaCam was around 11,000. I wanted a tool changer and vacuum table, but that was 20,000 more. Took a lot of talking to get the administration and school board to purchase it. Now I want a CNC laser and CNC lathe and to trade in the router for a newer and bigger one.
You should see how fast those kids catch on to running that thing. I have kids no longer in my class drawing stuff at home and bringing in the files to cut on the machine. Those rocking horses and Irish hand cars we give to Toys For Tots at Christmas were all drawn,programed and cut on that machine.
I figure I'll offer them 50 bucks when we go to trade it in.
Nice work Shopteacher and Charlie . Thanks everyone for the encouragement . ;D
Heres my story and I 'm sticken to it . I started out by resawing some birdseye maple to 9/16 " and planed it to 1/2 " . I then took a compass and drew 2 1/8 " circles . I took that to my scrollsaw and rough cut them . On my lathe I mounted a scrap block on a 3 " face plate and turned it down to a fuzz under 2" . Then I put double face tape on the turned down stub to mount the discs on individually . Place one disc on tape , bring tailstock up close , put scrap piece of wood on disc and secure with live center . Turn to a fuzz over 2 " , remove tailstock, move tool rest perpendicular to lathe bed , turn groove sand to 600 and apply shellac type friction finish. Remove disc , rotate to other side , remount on tape sand down that side and finish like other side .
Pack them up and mail to Jeff early in week . contact Jeff to see if he recieved them later in the week . He didn't havem yet so we thinks mailman is playing with them before he gives them to Jeff . :D Get home today and see Jeff got them so mailman is off the hook . Enjoy them Jeff as much as I did making them .
Holy cow! I can see that these checkers were no trouble at all, not to mention the clock and the carved checkers! You guys all are amazing, and very talented. I wish you lived closer so you could teach me a few things.
Great work, you guys! 8)
Hill Billy, I bet I got a gross of tapes, rulers, micrometers, digital calipers, vernier calipers and I'll be dang gum it if I can find one with that fuzz measurement on it. If'n you got another one of them rules I sure would like to swap you for it.
I am enjoying not only playing with them, but showing them off to anybody that walks in the house. I might even go into town and just say to people I meet, "didja hear I got new checkers?" ;D
I think I mantioned it, but I will again. I played two games so far. I won them both! I aint saying who lost cause she wouldn't like it and I might get thumpt. :)
Thanks again guys!!!!!!
Shopteacher thats some of the learnt knowledge. I found out early in my lathe turning that you can't turn it to diameter and then sand . it will end up on the small side . Actually I set an outside caliper with a ruler to do the final okay before sanding . ;)
Patty
Norm said he wants to kidnap me and equipment for couple of weeks . My wife happened to see that post as I was readin it and said you probably couldn ' t afford to feed me :D
Wow, wow, wow! :o
You guys are fantastic woodworkers - and Jeff is one lucky guy!
Patty, maybe we can enroll you in the first ever long distance Forestry Forum Correspondent Program.
Just look at that feller over there gloat'n and as proud as a peacock. Beats any defenseless folk that challenges him in his game. And I bet before this thread runs out he'll have a chest as big as Shwartzneger. :) :D ;D :D :)
cheers
Thanks to everyone for all the compliments. It was a challenge to figure out a process to turn the checkers. What amazes me is that WVHillbilly and I used two different approaches and our checkers look the same. At least in the picture. That's a nice job WVHillbilly! 8)
Shopteacher, that is some fine checkers, plaque and clock you made. I could never have figured out how to make that machine do that. If a tool has more than an On/Off switch, I'm in trouble. ;D
I think Jeff is finally able to enjoy his checker board.....which is really nice. Good job on that Jeff! Woooo Woooooo! 8)
I agree Charlie about the different styles for getting close results . It's scary isn't it . I think all of those projects are a nice tribute to Jeff for all the effort he puts forth with this Forum .
Shopteacher, the long distance coorespondence course works for me! 8) In fact I am taking an Astronomy class via the web right now through the Univ. of Iowa. You mark my words; this internet thing just might catch on! Sure glad Algore got busy and invented it. ;D
WV, Norm cooks enough to feed the whole town. It keeps me busy just giving away all the extra food. You gotta remember, we raised two strapping young men with big appetites. Norm still hasn't gotten used to just cooking for the two of us. You'd be welcome anytime you could come over.
That goes for the rest of you folks, too, you stop over and Norm will fix up a big feast. The price is, though, you gotta teach us what you know about woodworking. ;)
Shoot Patty, that'll only take me about 10 minutes. Can I stay longer? No grits though! :D Butch is upstairs packing his bags, bout the only thing that gets him moving, food.
I 'd have to agree Shopteacher That would be a very short class if I was teachin it .
Patty
I didn' t get up to 290 eatin light meals . Just good home cookin . I 'll have to see what I can do about stopping over one of these days .
UH HUH Jeff makin 'tend like he hit his hand wif a hammer at work. Shoooot Tammy done thumpt him when he took one of her kings :D :D :D
She says they are queens not kings. :-/